


Bitter Sweet Symphony

by MissGreLig



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Enemies to Lovers, F/M, Flirting, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Lots of dialogues, Minor Character Death, Modern Era, Pining, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-03 05:55:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,355
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24460072
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissGreLig/pseuds/MissGreLig
Summary: As usual, this story has been posted without proofread, so I'm sorry for any mistakes and erros I might have made while writing it. English is not my first language and I'm really sorry for anything that might disturb you while reading.The beginning can be misleading to the main purpose of the story, but it is necessary to understand what happens in it. and, yep, the title is from "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve.CW: It's rated T because there appears mild to strong language. Sorry if you are sensitive to it!Anyway, I hope you like it! :)
Relationships: Diana Barry & Anne Shirley, Diana Barry/Fred Wright, Diana Barry/Jerry Baynard, Gilbert Blythe & Anne Shirley, Gilbert Blythe & Delphine Lacroix & Sebastian "Bash" Lacroix, Gilbert Blythe & Sebastian "Bash" Lacroix, Gilbert Blythe/Anne Shirley, Jerry Baynard & Anne Shirley
Comments: 2
Kudos: 42





	Bitter Sweet Symphony

**Author's Note:**

> As usual, this story has been posted without proofread, so I'm sorry for any mistakes and erros I might have made while writing it. English is not my first language and I'm really sorry for anything that might disturb you while reading.  
> The beginning can be misleading to the main purpose of the story, but it is necessary to understand what happens in it. and, yep, the title is from "Bitter Sweet Symphony" by The Verve.
> 
> CW: It's rated T because there appears mild to strong language. Sorry if you are sensitive to it!
> 
> Anyway, I hope you like it! :)

“Di, you ready?” Anne asked, from her room, where she was sitting on the edge of her bed, bent forward in order to tie her sandals (they weren’t high heels, but enough to be comfortable in smart shoes). As nothing came from Diana’s, Anne stood up, took her already prepared handbag and phone and walked to Diana’s old university room. It had been three years since Diana left to Avonlea for her job at her family company, leaving her flat to Anne (who religiously paid her rent and bills to Diana); but whenever Diana was around, it felt like time hadn’t passed at all. 

There, in that room, Diana was mimicking Anne by sitting on the edge of her bed, already prepared to leave too, but a pinch gloomily looking at a bracelet.  _ The bracelet _ .

“Di, if you don’t feel ready we don’t have to go, you know that. Nobody is forcing you to do this”, Anne whispered, taking a place near Diana and bringing her to Anne’s chest, so that Anne could embrace her better.

“But I do want to go, really” Dianna pulled back and looked at Anne’s eyes, being hers filled with tears that threatened to leave her eyes. “But, deep inside me there is this  _ something _ that says I’m betraying our story; that he meant nothing to me-”

“Stop saying that, Diana”, Anne cut Diana’s words off; she knew that situation would happen. She missed him terribly too, but it was nothing compared to what Diana was actually feeling and the kind of relationship she had with him. “We both know, and you know much better than me, that he would want and encourage you to move on. He would know you are not betraying him or whatever; he knew he was wildly loved, and he always will because he will always keep a special place in your heart.” By that time, both young women had their make-up ruined by the tears, but it didn’t mind; they were healing a wound that still needed to be cured and that was the perfect time to do it. Anne caressed Diana’s hair while uttering: “Tonight is the first step to that life you and Jerry deserve, Diana. But if you are not ready yet, you don’t have to do it. I won’t force you to do it and neither should you.”

“It’s been two years since…”  _ Since Jerry passed away _ , Diana meant to say, but it hurted her. Not as much as it used to do, but still. “And it was me who wanted to try, Anne, when Ruby suggested this. And I want to do it, for real… But I’m scared… Of everything from now on”. Diana took the thin bracelet, that Jerry’s bracelet that never took off, and grasped it thigh, as if it would disappear if she didn’t hold it.

“I understand you, Di; but if you really want to do this, then you have to be brave, and think that you have to keep living for both of you and experience life as much as you wanted it to do with him by your side; it’s true it is different, but enough to remember and honour him. As I said, he won’t leave anywhere if you remember him and love him, but neither of you deserve to live your life in misery. You cannot let fear overcome you.”

“Did you ever talk about this, when you were younger?” Diana asked.

“No. Death, even though it was familiar to both of us, seemed far away when we grew up. We never thought that one day one of us could not be anymore this young. And less about these circumstances we find ourselves. But we knew him, and he was kind and loving and he would love and be proud of how you are emerging from pain the way you are doing. He would totally agree about this crazy plan because you will laugh and have fun at least and, if you are lucky, you will find someone that will love you and treat you well, just as he did and he would want for you.” Anne frankly answered, remembering the time she spent with Jerry Banyard in their youth.

Jerry and Anne were neighbours, and when Anne was adopted by the siblings Marilla and Matthew Cuthbert, Jerry was hired on the weekends and some alternate days on the week to help Matthew with the farm. It wasn’t child labour, but Banyards weren’t doing financially well by the time Anne arrived, and Jerry asked if he could be employed full-time to help Matthew, who instead arranged some hours during the whole week so that Jerry could still assist school. At first Anne and Jerry didn’t like each other; it wasn’t hate, but since the very first day both of them just disliked the other and either ignored each other or engaged in an argument about anything that bothered the other. That relationship changed a month later, when Anne knew that Jerry was falling behind at school and, since both of them were in the same academic year but not in the same school, offered herself to help him to at least complete that year. Since that moment, their relationship changed to that of siblings. Jerry joked about Anne’s interest in tragic romances and the books she loved (and still loves) during their teenage years, but it somehow stopped when Jerry died and, hence, Diana and Jerry’s relationship ended.

Diana and Jerry’s relationship wasn’t at first romantic either. They met through Anne -as they were friends from school-, and saw each other as friends at the beginning; but when adolescence hit them, Diana fell for him. She even was the first to take the first step, becoming a solid pair at the age of sixteen. At first, Diana’s family were not very happy with that relationship, but saw how happy Diana was and accepted Jerry in their family (also, helping the Banyards economically hiring Jerry’s eldest brothers in Barry's company). They were their first on everything, and their relationship was still strong despite being separated during the University years, Diana studying in Charlottetown along with Anne and Jerry working full time on the Cuthbert farm. A year after Diana took a position in the family’s business once she graduated, she hoped that any time soon Jerry would pop the question. Everybody was certain of that, but the accident happened. One night on his way home from shopping, it was pouring down more than never did in Avonlea, and even though Jerry was taking care, he lost the control of the car and fell from one of the town’s bridges. All Avonlea felt devastated by the tragic news; but Diana suffered it more along with the Banyards. Everyday that passed she felt like she lost everything she dreamt of since she was fifteen, and she didn’t know what to do with her life anymore. However, with the support of her family, her dearest Anne, the rest of her friends and the Banyards, she little by little began to see the light and recover from the hardest punch life gave to her.

Here is where Ruby’s idea comes: one afternoon, during their traditional  _ Girls’ afternoon  _ at Anne’s flat in Charlottetown, a four-months blondier than ever and prettier than ever pregnant Ruby ( _ bless hormones _ ) suggested Diana to try out one of those “blind dates” a pub there in the city did every Friday night. “That’s where I met Moody and, it’s not because I’m pregnant with his child, but I think that going there two years ago was the best decision I’ve ever made. But only if you feel ready to try, Di.”, Ruby appointed, grinning at the memories of that night and the days and months that followed. “Indeed you all should try; but since the rest of the girls couldn’t come here today, I’m talking about you, Anne.”

“Nope; I’m only going if Diana wants to, but not because I want it OR need it. I’m pretty happy with spinsterhood right now. Cheers anyway, Rubs”, Anne looked at Ruby and Diana, while sipping from her bottle of beer.

“It’s been three years since you and Roy broke up; you could at least try”, Diana said, as if the topic wasn’t on her and tried to convince Anne of it.

“Are you trying to say that  _ both of us _ should try it, Di?” Anne inquired with a smirk,  _ “God, it’s been so long since Diana behaved like this that right now I feel the happiest friend on earth” _ , she thought.

“Maybe… I think it can be fun, and it’s something different to give it a try. Ruby is the proof that it can get a good result, isn’t she?” Diana smirked too, perhaps a bit bolder because the first wine she had in years.

“Then it’s settled”, Ruby said, too happy for how Diana reacted to that information, “I’ll give you the address of the pub and next Friday you have a  _ date _ ”. 

During the week that passed till Friday, Anne asked Diana -subtly and not that subtly- if the plan for Friday night was still up, and after receiving every time an affirmative answer, Anne felt a bit calmer about Diana, but she kind of expected Diana’s current state and thanked herself she prepared herself emotionally in advance just in case Diana suffered a breakdown.

“You’re right, Anne,” Diana said after long seconds passed. “Now I sort of get my mind around it I should not hide away. Thank you, for being there.”

“I love you, Di. Never forget that.” Anne answered, and leant to give Diana a peck on the cheek and a hug. As Diana pulled back, Anne reminded: “But before we go, let’s fix our makeup. Or wear any of it.” Anne suggested, hopeful Diana would agree on it.

“Never! Despite the fact we both are beautiful - Yes, Anne, you are beautiful; don’t make funny faces and believe it at once” Diana jokingly but seriously scolded Anne and went on. “As I was saying, despite how naturally beautiful we are already, I love make-up and doing it to you.”

And as soon as Diana fixed hers and Anne’s makeup and grabbed her things, now a bit braver and composed, they left the flat for the pub. They were lucky: living in the centre of the town allowed them to be near almost anywhere in the city. Despite it being a rural city and she loved it, sometimes Anne wished Charlottetown was more like Avonlea, where the contact with nature was more closer. Also, it would mean that she was closer to Marilla and Matthew and could still be a little girl.

Ten minutes later, at 9:30 pm, they reached the pub. “The Red Poppy” read Diana, “I don’t know why, it sounds enigmatic, doesn’t it?”

“I don’t see it as such… Surprising coming from me, yes!” Anne smiled and eyed Diana, who was giggling and surprised at such an answer, “But I have got the feeling of being promising, too.”

With that, Diana grabbed Anne’s hand and pulled the door to enter. The place wasn’t different from other pubs in the city or in other places they’ve ever been: half panelled walls, decorated with some pictures of the city or vintage posters of brands as well as the compulsory advertisements, floor covered in tiles pretending to be parquet and illuminated in such a way that invited you to consume drinks and have a good time with whoever you went with. Besides, it seemed neat and the bar was ordered and clean, which was a point to have a relaxed time there. Before both girls entered and chose a place to sit, a waiter approached them and asked if they were there for  _ Lucky Friday _ , receiving an affirmative answer. He asked to write their names on a sticker with the already printed words  _ “Hello, I’m...” _ and took them to a bigger room, where the event was carried out. Meanwhile, the waiter told them how the routine was: they were divided into two groups, those who sat at a table and those who moved to that table. They talked for five minutes, when a horn indicated that time passed. If they liked the person they were speaking to, they had the chance of leaving the room to another place within the pub to keep knowing the other or just leave the place. If not, they would keep talking with other people till they found someone they would like to know more. Every fifteen minutes, people who were sitting changed so that they could talk with others they didn’t before while sitting.

Both girls were nervous and excited, it was so promising! However, that excitement evaporated from Anne as soon as she entered the room and crossed the gaze with the first person she saw in the room.

“Shit, this is impossible”, she said, at the same time she caught Diana’s forearm and drove themselves somewhere behind some piled-up chairs next to the door they walked in seconds before, where they could not be seen but they could see everyone there.

“What happened?” asked Diana, startled and upset.

“Do you remember that dickhead I told you about four days ago? The one working at  _ Mary’s,  _ who drew a carrot near my name in my coffee cup and literally called for me by  _ Carrots  _ when it was ready _. _ ”

“And you then threw it to his face after paying for it,  _ and  _ you have spent the rest of the week talking about him and how much you hate a person you don’t even know? Yep, I remember the story.” Diana finished, grinning at it remembering Anne’s phone call a couple of days ago and how she cried of laughter.

“Poor Bash, enough I’m not banned from entering there and agree with me about the incident” Anne added. “Anyway, the dickhead is here and I think she saw us.”

“Is it the man with a light blue shirt and the sleeves turned up till the elbows, dark jeans, dark curly head who is next to a blonde man, muscular body, white shirt and elegant suit pants and captivating blue eyes?” questioned Diana, the last description trailed off, as if suddenly she became enchanted by a spell casted by that young man.

“That one.” Anne, despite being aware of what Diana had said about the apparent companion of  _ Dickhead _ , felt bewitched too by  _ Dickhead _ in question. Anne could not deny he was terribly handsome: dark rebellious curly hair, dark green eyes (or that was what she remembered from last and first time she saw him), smooth and manly features, a breathtaking jawline, splendid chin and a playful, captivating smug smile on his lips.. He wasn’t that muscular as the young man next to him, but was quite a view physically speaking. Both men were young, probably two or three years older than the girls at most. Anne felt attracted to him when last Tuesday went to  _ Mary’s _ to buy her iced coffee as every afternoon before going back to work and saw that person behind the counter. She was even encouraging herself to unashamedly flirt with him, but all changed when, instead of calling her name (as she indicated when ordening her coffee), he blatantly called her though the speaker  _ Carrots _ in front of the rest of customers. She pretended for a few minutes she wasn’t bothered at all, but once she received her change of the note she gave for paying her order, she threw the coffee to his face and walked out the door as if nothing had just happened. Next day early in the morning, she went to apologise for her behaviour to Bash, who excused himself for the behaviour of the barista and assured Anne she was still welcomed to the place.

“Anne”, Diana muttered after a long but short minutes, as she also was busy kind of ogling the blonde fellow, “the boy is dreamy!”

Anne, blushing and obstinate, replied “He may, but he’s a tosser.”

“Maybe he tried to catch your attention, but it wasn't his best move” Diana tried to reason with Anne.

“You want me to like him so that you can approach his companion, am I wrong?” Anne defended herself, at the same time she pointed to the blonde man and looked at Diana, reminding her which was the main purpose of that night.

“I would never do that to you, to force you to do something that brings you distress”, Diana pretended to be offended, but her smile showed the opposite. “C’mon Anne, they actually seem nice people. Let’s give them a try!” she said, taking Anne’s hand again that night and dragging them from their not so secret-once-you-see-it-from-outside hidden place and while Anne kept repeating  _ “No, Diana, please don’t do this.” “Please, please, please, don’t” _ .

Diana released Anne’s hand and graciously sat at a table, indicated by one of the waiters there, at the same time Anne decided she would not participate in that. However, destiny had other plans and the waiter sat her in another table just in front of Diana, who was making eyes at the blonde fellow and being reciprocated. Anne scanned the room looking for  _ Dickhead _ while taking her drink and change from another waiter, but either he was better at hiding than Anne was or he just left the place, as he was nowhere to be seen. She decided then that, since he didn’t deserve her time, she would have a look at the rest of the people there. Anne wasn’t a girl who was influenced for appearance, but whoever she fixed her eyes on, she didn't feel attracted to them. One of the men there even reminded her of an older version of Charlie Sloane, a boy in her classroom during High School that had a crush on her and she just detested him.

Suddenly, the horn blew and people began to sit on the tables. Anne could see how Diana was already being charming and sparkling when the blonde man she had spent daydreaming since they got into the room sat in front of her (for the dismay of other men in the room). Anne felt so happy to see her like that… Happy, relaxed, with brightness on her eyes again. However, she didn’t catch Diana anymore because someone sat at her table.

“First of all, I would like to apologise. Our first encounter wasn’t the ideal one.” A gentle, deepish voice caught Anne’s attention and made _things_ appear inside her, occupying all her core. Her big blues eyes went wide and her red eyebrows raised in surprise when she recognised the young man in front of her.

She pretended to not be stunned by  _ Dickhead _ , but she failed as her face went as red as her hair; so she, childishly, decided to ignore him by looking somewhere else it wasn’t him or Diana, although she was dying to land her eyes on his and get lost on his gaze.

“Are you looking for something?” He asked, after waiting for a response from the red-headed and noticing she was looking everywhere but him.

“Yes, your dignity; but I think you left it in  _ Mary’s _ , if I remember well” Anne finally looked back at him.  _ “He is more handsome than I thought... ANNE, FOCUS!”  _ admonished herself, blushing harder than before and hiding herself behind her glass of wine. Besides, it wasn’t that easy to not look him in the eye as, maybe because of the lights in the room or his natural eye colour, she could find little bits of gold in his brownish green eyes.

However, and again, his reaction to her words wasn’t what Anne expected for him to react: he was laughing at the comment. Laughing! How could he?

“Is it funny to you?” Anne challenged.

“A bit. I have to say that, even though my ego has been a bit damaged, I must say your remark is accurate and amusing.” The man replied, making Anne feel partly victorious in the battle. “But really, I want to apologise for my behaviour; it wasn’t my cleverest move and I have not been educated to behave so immature. Will I ever receive your forgiveness, or should I retreat myself from battle and accept my defeat?”

Anne felt positively amazed by this man. Charming, attractive and educated, just like her childhood Prince Wisteria -even though Prince Wisteria was blonde but suddenly for Anne, dark hair suited him too. Even Marilla, who was a bit iron-hearted would have fallen before his charm. Anne, who lost herself looking at him and imagining him in her deep childhood fantasies, remembered what he had asked and that he was waiting for an answer.

“Remains to be seen, Princ-... Ehmm...” she corrected herself.  _ “You almost called him Prince Wisteria, Anne!” _

“Gilbert,” he offered while pointing to the sticker on his shirt, just above what Anne guessed it had on his left nipple and his heart.

“Right, Gilbert.” Anne repeated, taking another sip from her wine abruptly thirsty. What was happening to her? She was known to be the most talkative person people ever met, even though she was categorised to be one of those people who could get on someone’s nerves, but this person in front of her just left her speechless without knowing anything about him. How could that be possible? How could she allow him to bewitch her like that?

He chuckled and put on his face that smug smile that Anne captivated and loathed at the same time. He continued “So… I guess I can take that like a…?”

“A maybe, depending if the rest of minutes left you offend me again.”

“That’s not the purpose; neither was the first time.”

“So what was the purpose back then?” Anne wanted to know.

“I wanted to catch your attention. I...” he looked at his joined hands, hiding his blush, “I find you really pretty, and when you walked in I got so nervous I allowed myself to act like a dickhead.” Anne chortled with the last word and blamed dearest Diana, as she was right. Gilbert looked at Anne and smiled, because he somehow had made her laugh. He continued “Bash, literary, smacked my head the minute after you left with a tea towel and told me off about it. He’s fond of you, by the way. Well, I tried to convince him all week to give me some hint or a lead to find you and apologise, but he said nothing; I don’t know whether it was because he really had no idea or was trying to prevent you from facing me again. I was about to drop the idea of finding you and tell you all these, but suddenly you walked in about fifteen minutes ago and seemed that Providence or something wanted to give me another chance to mend things up. Do you believe me?”

“Unexpectedly, I do”, Anne honestly answered him. For some strange reason, she trusted the young man in front of her; and she knew that everything when meeting someone you fancy for the first time is nice and fantastic and butterflies and hearts everywhere, but this time felt different. This time she felt then more intensified than ever.

“Well, that’s a relief.” He replied, smiling.

“Anne” Anne blurted shouting out of the blue, “My name is Anne.”

“With an E, I see”, Gilbert directed his eyes to Anne’s sticker, placed on her left breast in a short casual but elegant sleeveless red dress, patterned with little white daisies that highlighted her long loose red hair, her smooth, pale skin full of freckles that looked like constellations, her red painted lips and her round breasts. Besides, he could see in the bluest eyes, that he was afraid she tried to hide behind a fringe, he’d ever seen everything and anything at the same time; they could be defined as enchanted storytellers. They also allowed him to see her, although he did not know her at all. Yet.

“That's it.” murmured Anne, while getting lost in the eyes of that man.

Suddenly, the horn blew again, indicating that people should move. She looked where Diana was supposed to be, but she did not see her or the blonde man there.

She got nervous; she didn’t want to be there without her and with people she was not comfortable with.

“Do you want to leave the place?” Gilbert asked, concerned and perceiving Anne’s sudden nervousness.

“Yes, please”, she confessed after some long seconds, as she saw the pseudo Charlie approaching her table. She felt sorry when she and Gilbert stood up and saw the fellow’s disappointment, but it was quickly erased as soon as she grasped Gilbert’s sleeve and walked next to him out the door.

Once outside, Anne put on her denim jacket (May’s nights could still be a bit colder) and looked at Gilbert again, who was looking at her quite intensely.

"Well, now where do we go?" Anne asked Gilbert, in order to break the ice. There inside in the pub was a thing, at least they were surrounded with other people and somehow Anne felt a strange feeling of protection. It's not like she was scared of him or whatever, but it felt weird, like more vulnerable than ever now they were them alone. She realised that, whenever they held each other's gaze, she felt like he could see her; everything she was and what she had been through, and most importantly, without being judged at all. It was weird and left her in an odd feeling of nakedness, but she felt secure with the man who just ten minutes ago was nicknamed  _ Dickhead.  _ And she loved that feeling.

"That's what I was about to ask you, too. Where do you want to go? Any preference?"

"I have an idea", Anne frantically and grinning said, "why don't I take you to a place in town I like a lot and then you take me to yours? They must be public, though; I don't know, you seem, to my dismay, a nice person, but maybe you are a serial killer or something". Anne joked, at the same time she tried to be cautious towards Gilbert. She was right, even though she had blind faith in him, he could put a façade and pretend to be something in fact he wasn't.

"Good suggestion; and it's fair they're public places. I understand your concern, but I'm not that mad to kill or kidnap random people around, if that can ease you".

"I have seen enough documentaries and read lots of articles to be cautious about these kind of…  _ situations _ where people trick innocent girls and then kill them"  _ 'dates' _ was what Anne wanted to say instead of ‘situations’, but could that be considered a real date?

"Fair enough; but trust me again when I'm assuring you I'm not" Gilbert smirked, as he began to walk and Anne followed by his side. She was bright; Gilbert could swear she was the most intelligent person he ever met and it took only five minutes to realise that. He already knew she was beautiful; he noticed it in that first encounter and demonstrated his stupidity when trying to make her aware of his existence. However, that beauty was beyond appearance: it went through her personality and he just could feel it, making Gilbert want to know more and stay near her. "Do you mind if we first go to my place? That sounds odd and promising" Gilbert rushed, smirked and blushed after realising what the question implied -someday, he would-, making Anne giggle again and blush too. "C’mon, you know what I mean. Are you hungry? I haven't eaten before since lunch and I'm afraid that, rather than be me who is speaking, it would be my tummy which takes the lead if I don’t feed it" Gilbert joked and Anne kept laughing. He could go like that all the night if that meant she would do what was becoming one of his favourite sounds on earth.

"Alright, whatever the beasts need to calm down" Anne teased back, making Gilbert chuckle and spread a wider smile.

On their way to catch some food for Gilbert, Anne asked Gilbert the reason why he went to the pub. He told her that it was to back up his friend, who happened to actually be the blonde fellow that, apparently and Anne hoped it so much, was with Diana that night. His name was Fred Wright, and was a lawyer. Gilbert and Fred were friends since the University years, and due to that link, Bash contacted him whenever he or the café needed legal aid. Anne then asked Gilbert if he was working at  _ Mary’s _ , but she received a different answer to what she expected:

“I’m actually a doctor. Next week marks three years since I became an internist at Charlottetown’s Hospital.”

“Go on! You may be joking” Anne exclaimed, not hiding her surprise at such information.

“I swear it!” Gilbert laughed, looking how adorable Anne looked.

“And, how is it that you were working as a barista, then?”

“Oh, that’s a kind of arrangement between Bash and me. Sometimes, on my free days at the hospital I just give him a hand if he needs it. That infamous day, the regular barista asked the day off for family reasons and Bash called me.”

“I see… How did you meet Bash?” inquired Anne.

“I’ll tell you if you tell me about you first” Gilbert shot back, making Anne look at him with a face. “Don’t look at me like that! You have been the one shooting questions and me answering them. It’s my turn to make questions now. So… Miss…?”

“Shierly, dash, Cuthbert” Anne provided while drawing in the air a dash, indicating that there were two separate surnames.

“So, Miss Shirley dash Cuthbert” Gilbert repeated the first part of his question and what Anne said (and, again, making her foolishly chuckle with his nonsense), “Dr Blythe, aka me, wants to know why you went to the pub tonight and what do you do for earning a living.”

Anne then explained that she went to the pub to accompany her friend Diana, and summed up what happened to her friend without further details. Gilbert, after hearing it, sincerely offered his condolences, and also referenced his familiarity to losses of friends who were like family. As Anne didn’t want to colour black the  _ date _ so soon, she developed the second part of the question. She explained that she graduated at Charlottetown University three years ago too in English Literature and Teaching, but she found Summer a job in Charlottetown newspaper as an editor and she still keeps the post. However, her biggest dream would be to write.

“Oh, I’m meeting next Nobel and Pulitzer Prize” Gilbert said jokingly not in a derogatory way, but in genuine enthusiasm. “What do you want to write about?”

“I don’t really mind, but since I wanted to be a teacher, I favour children’s literature.”

“Then, I bet my niece Dellie would love that. Look! We arrived at our first stop.” Gilbert announced.

Without realising it, Gilbert drove Anne to the opposite street to the main entrance of the hospital. Just on the corner of the street there was a food truck where it was sold Mexican food. After asking Anne if she wanted something and she asking for a small size container of Tacos, Gilbert talked friendly and ordered their choices in what Anne perceived to be perfect Spanish. Once the man gave the food to Gilbert and said something that made him blush as a farewell and Gilbert and Anne took the path that would lead to what Anne supposed it was Charlottetown’s port, Anne inquired:

“Do you know how to speak Spanish?”

“It’s still broken Spanish, but I could sort of fluently speak and understand it. I began to actually learn it when I worked on a cruise and most of the staff were Spanish, but I kind of forgot it as soon as Bash and I landed in port and headed to here.”

Gilbert told Anne his story while they settled on a bench in the port with sea views and started eating their food: when he became eighteen, his father died and he became an orphan, so he sold his house and instead of going to University, worked for two years in a cruise to save money and think about what he really wanted in life. There he met Bash, whose real name was Sebastian Lacroix and was originally from Trinidad and Tobago whose family actually descended from African slaves. One day they decided to come back to Charlottetown (his hometown) with everything they saved at the moment, and while Gilbert studied medicine and became a doctor, Bash would work somewhere with all the help Gilbert could provide from old friends and acquaintances. And in one of these jobs interviews Bash met Mary. She hired him in her café, and after a year of dating, they got married. All of them moved to a bigger flat and lived as a family. Five years after their wedding and coinciding with Gilbert’s graduation and his first months working at the hospital, Delphine or Dellie came. All was happy for the next five months, with the common everyday problems, till one day Bash woke up next to a dead Mary. Autopsy determined that Mary suffered a sudden death and that she died peacefully, but it was a shock for a 26 years old Gilbert and a newly widowed Bash. There, Anne briefly specified that she was two years younger than him, urging him to continue his story. Because Bash had to work in the café and Gilbert had a odd schedule, their neighbours, who were the Mexican man of the food truck and his family took care of Dellie, making her learn Spanish.

“Bash and I love the idea of Dellie speaking another language, and sometimes, if I’m free, I go with them and learn as much as possible. But it’s not as frequent as I’d love to. Besides, it’s good for me; recently I read this research in which people who speak two or more languages and are in pain speak in their mother tongue to explain what is wrong with them; so I decided to learn Spanish instead of French. There are much more doctors at the hospital who speak French and, although it is a small percentage, in Charlottetown there are Spanish-speaking people... If, you know, you offer your hand in difficult times that makes work and sacrifice more rewarding”. Gilbert added, biting the rest of his burrito as if he just explained to her the most insignificant thing that crossed his mind to fill the silence.

Anne knew by observing his face and eyes while narrating that the story was the opposite of insignificant for him, and she felt empathy, pain, joy and a strange sense of pride towards the person she had to her side. He was not a dickhead anymore, and, the more she knew about him, the more she  _ indeed _ liked him. He was intelligent; an equal to her in great part of its senses. Once he finished, Anne shared most of her thoughts (she didn’t confess about her latest realisation about him) about what he just told her of his story and told him her story.

Her parents were Scottish, but arrived in Nova Scotia for employment-related reasons. They died in a fire when she was eleven months old, being she the only survivor to it. As nobody had contact with her parents’ family in Scotland and nobody claimed for her there and in Halifax, where she originally came from, she lived since that moment in the local orphanage. She described her life there as a living hell, as she suffered bullying at the schools she went to (every academic year she went to a different school) and by the rest of girls in the orphanage. However, she befriended two of the cooks and relied a lot on books and her imagination, building in her the joy, hope, brightness, intelligence and all the other characteristics that made Anne, Anne. A week later she became twelve, she was adopted by the Cuthberts in Avonlea, PEI, and she travelled all the way from Halifax with a caretaker from the orphanage to her new home. The first month was hard, as she was not very much liked by some people of the town and kids at school as well as she was afraid the Cuthberts were going to kick her out at any time. However, all went to what Anne always dreamt of: a family and friends that loved her, education and a job and life she liked.

Once she finished, Gilbert felt just the same feelings and emotions Anne secretly felt with him: admiration, joy, woe and that sense of pride towards the girl he had to his side. If he already liked her, he was one hundred percent sure that he was now smitten. He also commented on some details of her narration, as curious as Anne was with his story, and sensing the unexpected turn of their conversation during the night, he jokingly commented:

“And this is what you speak about on your first date. And surprisingly we didn’t talk about exes!”

“Indeed!” Anne agreed, smiling at the comment. She teased back: “But who told you this was a first date?”

“I assumed that when you grasped my sleeve while eloping from the pub.” Gilbert punned, making Anne blush at it.

“Well, you may be wrong. And, before you ask it, my perception about being this a date or not will change depending on how the rest of our time together tonight goes.” Anne mysteriously said, smirking at the comment. Gilbert, to that image, imitated her smirk and got lost on her image.

It wasn’t the finest light where they were found, but the light coming from the streetlights in the park and the port’s esplanade made her as if she was a dryad who escaped from a magical forest to take Gilbert to an great, exhilarating adventure. Suddenly, Anne made a gesture for whatever reason that Gilbert prompted his niece Dellie and fantasised with the moment in which she and Anne meet. He was sure that Dellie excitedly would exclaim she was meeting Princess Anna from  _ Frozen. _

He woke up from that fantasy when Anne spoke again: “Well, let's get back to safe topics: do you have any piercing or tattoos?”

“No piercings, but one tattoo. And you?”

“Do you? Wow, Dr Blythe, you’re a box full of surprises. Can I ask what it is?”

“Only if you tell me if you have any of them. And, tell me its meaning and show me if it can be shown.”

“Okey,” Anne sighed, to Gilbert’s pleasure, “I don’t have any piercings but I have one tattoo. It’s a window, coloured in green and it represents my bedroom’s window in ‘Green Gables’, which is my parents’ farm in Avonlea.” Next, she turned her back to Gilbert, took off the jacket and moved her hair to show the said tattoo on the back of her neck. It wasn’t too big, and it was delicate and after hearing the reason behind it, it was precise too. Anne put her jacket on again and told Gilbert: “Now you.”

“Right. It is a drawing by my niece and, hence, Bash’s daughter. She drew this kind of kite in bright orange and gave it to me as a present for my birthday two years ago. And… Here comes the first embarrassing part of the story, I tattooed it… on my bum-cheek after an afternoon party completely drunk with some Uni friends. I couldn’t sit properly for a while and I had Bash treating it for a couple of weeks… Oh please, Anne, don’t laugh”, Gilbert begged embarrassed, but laughing as much as Anne was doing.

“Poor Dellie, she gives you a beautiful present and you destroy it like that. You are a rascal, Doctor; you don’t have any consideration for your niece.” Anne managed to say.

“Well, the other fact was that, actually, that was the perfect time to do it because, believe it or not, the Doctor here is afraid of needles.”

To that Anne laughed so hard she even cried. After she calmed her, she told her some embarrassing anecdotes about her, like the time she painted her hair green instead of black and had to wear a pixies hairstyle in green and red for a while and exchanged some random anecdotes more.

Anne checked her phone in a break of those exchanged, and shocked, exclaimed: “Gilbert! It’s 12:15 am!”

“Seriously? Wow… Indeed time flies!”

“I’m sorry” Anne said while she stood up and, relaxing some message she received on her phone, began to pick up her rubbish. “I have to go. Even though I just texted my friend and she assured me she is okay, I want to be at my place when she arrives.”

“You don’t have to excuse yourself, Anne. It’s late and I understand it. Do you mind if I walk you home?”

Anne, putting a fight to keep flirting up, replied: “Only if you promise you’re not going to kidnap me in the middle of the night.”

Gilbert, putting his right hand on his heart and above the sticker, promised: “I swear not to kidnap you in the middle of the night.”

They threw their rubbish on a litter and walked at a relaxed pace in silence to Anne’s flat. They didn’t say anything or thought really about anything, but the person they had on their side and how their opinions about the other changed to a major or lesser extent.

“Here it is.” Anne pointed at a door. “I did have a lot of fun, and I think you are no longer a Dickhead.”

“Oh, thanks for changing your opinion about me, then” appreciated Gilbert.

“And I think too you found your dignity, even though you lost a bit of it when you opened about your tattoo”, Anne teased.

“It was an exchange of yours with your greenish-reddish hair.” Gilbert teased back.

“Well, I’d better go. Thank you for your time. Bye-bye” Anne offered her hand and Gilbert shook it saying goodbye too, a bit disappointed.

When Anne walked to the door, turning her back at Gilbert, and made sure he walked a bit further from her, she called his name and, not so loudly, shouted: “Won’t you give me your number or anything?”

Gilbert, recovering amusement again, walked to her and removed the sticker from his shirt, writing down his phone number with a pen he pulled out of his trousers’ pocket. When he finished, Anne took the pen and, removing her sticker from the dress, wrote down her number. They exchanged the stickers and gave a brief, but significant and promising hug. This time, Gilbert waited till Anne walked in to leave. Before she even did so, she turned again and stated: "I'm looking forward for the next date. This one will be difficult to overcome." It was three minutes after he addressed home he received an emoji of a cat winking from an unknown number whose profile photo was the most beautiful red-headed he ever met.

At the same time Anne read that Gilbert sent her the same emoji, she came into the flat and saw that Diana was already there. She directed herself to Diana’s room and checked if she was alright. She couldn’t finish her sentence calling for Diana when Diana herself threw her arms around Anne crying and whispered: “Anne, I’m so happy right now I think I can’t bear it.”

“Oh, Di, you don’t know how happy I am for you! But, let’s change and tell me about Fred.”

“And you about Gilbert.” Diana knowingly smiled with tears in her eyes.

“I love you, Di.”

“I love you, Anne.”

**Author's Note:**

> Please, stay safe, give kuddos and comment if you liked it! Thank you in advance! :)  
> Tumblr: @missgrelig


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